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The GameCube has been a big hit in the US, and all 700,000 of the initial US batch is reportedly sold out. Another 200,000 is due to hit before Xmas. This is obviously a very good sign for the big N, especially after the somewhat underwhelming launch in Japan. It is particularly encouraging to see that world events aren't affecting the videogaming world too much.
Anyway, how will this effect us in Europe? Well on IGN.com, where I got the above info, it said that the GC was now likely for a April (not March, but only a month late) release. This is not confirmed. However, I don't think the bug N are going to push the date back any further than April. Xbox is likely to still launch in March, and they can't afford to give them a significant headstart. However, a slight delay from March is very possible, considering the US launch has gone so well. Ninty will wish to continue their success in America, and may even try to up the number of GCs getting to the US before Xmas, so the kids won't be disappointed.
I believe the GC Europe launch will be in late March to mid April. Any later is basically suicide here in Europe. Ninty won't recover in Europe if they delay longer than necessary. However, I think that Nintendo can afford to launch in Europe without too many consoles. Here, in the UK at least, there is little GC hype, and as far as I'm aware, people seem to be much more aware of the Xbox, many people not even knowing the name of Nintendos new piece of kit. Nintendo need to start advertising GC here before Xbox launches, to try and turn some people from it before it is too late. That way, even if GC has to be released later than Xbox here, awareness will be raised, and some potential Xbox buyers will wait and see what the GameCube is like. Nintendo should also try and release with a low price tag.
It costs $199.99 in America (I think?) which directly converted into pounds means about £140. But traditionally, in Europe and UK we get charged more for our consoles and games. I predict that a £199.99 price tag in the UK is most likely, but I am hoping that it will be less, maybe £180 or even £170. This will undercut Xboxs price very substantially, so GameCube will appeal more to those who already have DVD players, and don't want to fork out the extra for another on their console.
However, the Europe release line up looks very strong, with Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Super Monkey Ball, Star Wars: Rogue Leader, Tony Hawks Skater 3, Pikmin, Crazy Taxi, Extreme G3, Galleon, Phantasy Star Online v2, Starfox Adventures, and Super Smash Bros. Melee all looking highly likely to be available on the GCs release.
On another note, Shigeru Miyamoto has already hinted at Pikmin 2, and said it may take as little as a year to develop it. This is a good sign, as it shows that Nintendo developed games can be expected much more regularly than on the N64, and that the system overall is very easy to develop for, as has been stated in the past.
Well overall, Nintendos future looks pretty bright, but for us in Europe all we can do is look to the future, and wait in hope...
Anyway, how will this effect us in Europe? Well on IGN.com, where I got the above info, it said that the GC was now likely for a April (not March, but only a month late) release. This is not confirmed. However, I don't think the bug N are going to push the date back any further than April. Xbox is likely to still launch in March, and they can't afford to give them a significant headstart. However, a slight delay from March is very possible, considering the US launch has gone so well. Ninty will wish to continue their success in America, and may even try to up the number of GCs getting to the US before Xmas, so the kids won't be disappointed.
I believe the GC Europe launch will be in late March to mid April. Any later is basically suicide here in Europe. Ninty won't recover in Europe if they delay longer than necessary. However, I think that Nintendo can afford to launch in Europe without too many consoles. Here, in the UK at least, there is little GC hype, and as far as I'm aware, people seem to be much more aware of the Xbox, many people not even knowing the name of Nintendos new piece of kit. Nintendo need to start advertising GC here before Xbox launches, to try and turn some people from it before it is too late. That way, even if GC has to be released later than Xbox here, awareness will be raised, and some potential Xbox buyers will wait and see what the GameCube is like. Nintendo should also try and release with a low price tag.
It costs $199.99 in America (I think?) which directly converted into pounds means about £140. But traditionally, in Europe and UK we get charged more for our consoles and games. I predict that a £199.99 price tag in the UK is most likely, but I am hoping that it will be less, maybe £180 or even £170. This will undercut Xboxs price very substantially, so GameCube will appeal more to those who already have DVD players, and don't want to fork out the extra for another on their console.
However, the Europe release line up looks very strong, with Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Super Monkey Ball, Star Wars: Rogue Leader, Tony Hawks Skater 3, Pikmin, Crazy Taxi, Extreme G3, Galleon, Phantasy Star Online v2, Starfox Adventures, and Super Smash Bros. Melee all looking highly likely to be available on the GCs release.
On another note, Shigeru Miyamoto has already hinted at Pikmin 2, and said it may take as little as a year to develop it. This is a good sign, as it shows that Nintendo developed games can be expected much more regularly than on the N64, and that the system overall is very easy to develop for, as has been stated in the past.
Well overall, Nintendos future looks pretty bright, but for us in Europe all we can do is look to the future, and wait in hope...
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The Gamecube's gonna cost £200 when it comes out!
And you can bet on the games being £40-£50+! No less!
grrr-argh
:[
And you can bet on the games being £40-£50+! No less!
grrr-argh
:[
well £20 deposit so no more than £180 more. Hopefully It'll only be about £170-£190 for one, to undercut the PS2 price as well as Xbox. (unless PS2 cuts its price again to combat the GC...)
I'm mostly worried about the eventual cost of my pre-order :s
I don't think Ninty will up the price for the release then bring it down as soon as stocks are re filled. I mean £200 is still more than USA gamers were paying for their GCs, so if it does launch at £200 or even slightly above, then it should go down to below £200 after a month at most. I personally hope it will launch below £200 and will then go down to £150 or less within the first year or so, maybe even by Xmas 2002. This will encourage GC as gift for gamers, and help to boost christmas sales.
Top post. Well, it will be for a bit after the pop...
I'm just concerned that now nintendo have found the success they sought so actively after the japanese launch, they'll be far less concerned with europe.
To me, i just fear that it'll mean less marketing, more releases not getting... released here, and possibly setting the release price artificially high to fleece the pre-orders (wasn't the n64 about 300 pounds on release for a couple of weeks?).
The rumors of the april release could be a hint at that.
Still, not being able to change it, i think i'll content myself to wait and see, and decide what price i'd cancel my pre-order at!
I'm just concerned that now nintendo have found the success they sought so actively after the japanese launch, they'll be far less concerned with europe.
To me, i just fear that it'll mean less marketing, more releases not getting... released here, and possibly setting the release price artificially high to fleece the pre-orders (wasn't the n64 about 300 pounds on release for a couple of weeks?).
The rumors of the april release could be a hint at that.
Still, not being able to change it, i think i'll content myself to wait and see, and decide what price i'd cancel my pre-order at!
The GameCube has been a big hit in the US, and all 700,000 of the initial US batch is reportedly sold out. Another 200,000 is due to hit before Xmas. This is obviously a very good sign for the big N, especially after the somewhat underwhelming launch in Japan. It is particularly encouraging to see that world events aren't affecting the videogaming world too much.
Anyway, how will this effect us in Europe? Well on IGN.com, where I got the above info, it said that the GC was now likely for a April (not March, but only a month late) release. This is not confirmed. However, I don't think the bug N are going to push the date back any further than April. Xbox is likely to still launch in March, and they can't afford to give them a significant headstart. However, a slight delay from March is very possible, considering the US launch has gone so well. Ninty will wish to continue their success in America, and may even try to up the number of GCs getting to the US before Xmas, so the kids won't be disappointed.
I believe the GC Europe launch will be in late March to mid April. Any later is basically suicide here in Europe. Ninty won't recover in Europe if they delay longer than necessary. However, I think that Nintendo can afford to launch in Europe without too many consoles. Here, in the UK at least, there is little GC hype, and as far as I'm aware, people seem to be much more aware of the Xbox, many people not even knowing the name of Nintendos new piece of kit. Nintendo need to start advertising GC here before Xbox launches, to try and turn some people from it before it is too late. That way, even if GC has to be released later than Xbox here, awareness will be raised, and some potential Xbox buyers will wait and see what the GameCube is like. Nintendo should also try and release with a low price tag.
It costs $199.99 in America (I think?) which directly converted into pounds means about £140. But traditionally, in Europe and UK we get charged more for our consoles and games. I predict that a £199.99 price tag in the UK is most likely, but I am hoping that it will be less, maybe £180 or even £170. This will undercut Xboxs price very substantially, so GameCube will appeal more to those who already have DVD players, and don't want to fork out the extra for another on their console.
However, the Europe release line up looks very strong, with Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Super Monkey Ball, Star Wars: Rogue Leader, Tony Hawks Skater 3, Pikmin, Crazy Taxi, Extreme G3, Galleon, Phantasy Star Online v2, Starfox Adventures, and Super Smash Bros. Melee all looking highly likely to be available on the GCs release.
On another note, Shigeru Miyamoto has already hinted at Pikmin 2, and said it may take as little as a year to develop it. This is a good sign, as it shows that Nintendo developed games can be expected much more regularly than on the N64, and that the system overall is very easy to develop for, as has been stated in the past.
Well overall, Nintendos future looks pretty bright, but for us in Europe all we can do is look to the future, and wait in hope...
Anyway, how will this effect us in Europe? Well on IGN.com, where I got the above info, it said that the GC was now likely for a April (not March, but only a month late) release. This is not confirmed. However, I don't think the bug N are going to push the date back any further than April. Xbox is likely to still launch in March, and they can't afford to give them a significant headstart. However, a slight delay from March is very possible, considering the US launch has gone so well. Ninty will wish to continue their success in America, and may even try to up the number of GCs getting to the US before Xmas, so the kids won't be disappointed.
I believe the GC Europe launch will be in late March to mid April. Any later is basically suicide here in Europe. Ninty won't recover in Europe if they delay longer than necessary. However, I think that Nintendo can afford to launch in Europe without too many consoles. Here, in the UK at least, there is little GC hype, and as far as I'm aware, people seem to be much more aware of the Xbox, many people not even knowing the name of Nintendos new piece of kit. Nintendo need to start advertising GC here before Xbox launches, to try and turn some people from it before it is too late. That way, even if GC has to be released later than Xbox here, awareness will be raised, and some potential Xbox buyers will wait and see what the GameCube is like. Nintendo should also try and release with a low price tag.
It costs $199.99 in America (I think?) which directly converted into pounds means about £140. But traditionally, in Europe and UK we get charged more for our consoles and games. I predict that a £199.99 price tag in the UK is most likely, but I am hoping that it will be less, maybe £180 or even £170. This will undercut Xboxs price very substantially, so GameCube will appeal more to those who already have DVD players, and don't want to fork out the extra for another on their console.
However, the Europe release line up looks very strong, with Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Super Monkey Ball, Star Wars: Rogue Leader, Tony Hawks Skater 3, Pikmin, Crazy Taxi, Extreme G3, Galleon, Phantasy Star Online v2, Starfox Adventures, and Super Smash Bros. Melee all looking highly likely to be available on the GCs release.
On another note, Shigeru Miyamoto has already hinted at Pikmin 2, and said it may take as little as a year to develop it. This is a good sign, as it shows that Nintendo developed games can be expected much more regularly than on the N64, and that the system overall is very easy to develop for, as has been stated in the past.
Well overall, Nintendos future looks pretty bright, but for us in Europe all we can do is look to the future, and wait in hope...
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